The Firebird
by Lavenderlash
Summary: Sequel to THT; Phoenix is back, and things aren't as they seem. The Triwizard Tournament has come to Hogwarts and the new DADA teacher is completely mad, and he isn't the only one. Tempers are rising, jealousy is evident, and it seems like being a teenager isn't all it's cracked up to be. In fact, it's kind of like playing with fire - and who would know that better than a Phoenix?
1. Family Reunions

**If you want to come at me with pitchforks, then go ahead. I'm so so so sorry this is as late as it is - I have my reasons, I promise you. ****But for now, put down the pitchforks and torches and read the first chapter of the sequel to The Hidden Truth - The Firebird.**

**I would also like to say, before I get any flames or hopes up, this won't be an animagus story. Maybe a long time from now, but not now. The description is purely a cheesy pun, that's all.**

* * *

It was as if she were falling, however, standing quite still. No - she was spinning, faster and faster through a sea of nothing, like she had fallen down the rabbit's hole. This went on for a few moments before she saw colors, connecting the dots before she landed with a soft 'thump' on her backside.

She took a look at her surroundings; there was nothing except for grass and a tiny cottage a few feet away. Somehow, this was all familiar to her, but she had never seen this place in her life.

The grass tickled her bare feet, and she slowly stood up, looking over her shoulder for anyone. She was completely alone. Looking back ahead of her, she moved towards the cottage, taking in it's odd sense of familiarity. It made absolutely no sense, but she went with it.

Her hand found the doorknob and she pushed the door open gently, a soft creaking noise filling the silence. Now, normally, she had more sense than to just wander into a house in the middle of nowhere, but she felt an urge in her stomach that told her she needed to be here.

"Hello?" Her voice echoed inside the cottage. She received no answer.

She went inside, her eyes roaming the kitchen area; She must've came in through the backdoor. The kitchen was small and clean, a little round dining table with cushioned seats sat in the middle.

For some reason, she felt a pull from the living room. She tried to ignore it, but it was driving her mad. So, naturally, she sauntered over towards the only door that was ajar, but as quick as a fox, a flash of red lingered in her vision as someone covered her eyes, and a female voice spoke.

"Oh no, not yet."

Phoenix's eyes snapped open, her breathing slightly heavy. It took her a second to realize that she was in her bed, not some random cottage, and that she was just dreaming.

But someone was speaking to her, shaking her shoulder gently.

"Phoenix, wake up. I've let you sleep as long as I could." It was her mother.

Phoenix let out a groan, shutting her eyes once more and snaking her hands around a nearby stuffed animal, holding it close.

"Phoenix, if I don't get you up, Oliver will."

This was enough to get her awake. She let go of the stuffed animal, her eyes fluttering open as she turned on her side, which was a bad idea because she hadn't realized she was at the edge of the bed. She fell to the floor with a thud and groaned.

"Are you alright?" Her mother asked, laughter hidden in her voice.

"Yes, mother." Phoenix lifted herself up, opening her eyes and dropping her jaw as she looked through her window. "Mum! The sun hasn't even risen yet!"

"You can blame your uncle and cousin for that." Her mother said tiredly, "Now, get dressed, and remember: Wear somethin' muggle-like. And, please, no hair, eye, skin color, or even face changes."

She was obviously referring to Phoenix's metamorphamagus ability, a trait that was rare, but, interestingly enough, she shared it with her other cousin Nymphadora, who she called Nymph.

"Yes, mum."

And with that, her mother left the room.

Phoenix let out a huge yawn that turned into a squeal. She didn't care much about her mysterious dream anymore now that she remembered that she was going to the Quidditch World Cup, a.k.a. her birthday present that was well worth the seven month wait.

"Tipsy!" Phoenix called.

Their was a soft popping noise, and an elf with floppy, bat-like ears, and a button nose appeared. "Yes, miss?" Tipsy asked kindly, bowing. Phoenix curtsied in return.

"Would you be so kind as to make me raspberry tea?" She asked.

"Certainly, miss!" The house elf's ears flapped as she nodded. She disappeared, before quickly returning, a mug of warm tea in her small hands. "Anything else, miss?"

"No thank you, Tipsy, you are dismissed." Phoenix took a sip of the tea as the elf left, smacking her lips in satisfaction.

She set the mug down on her bedside table near a photo of a man, woman, and infant, and sauntered over to her closet. Her ears pricked up as she thought she heard shouting from downstairs, stopping in her place to check before shrugging; it was probably nothing.

She rummaged through her closet, looking for the muggle clothes that Nymph had gotten her as a late birthday present. Phoenix wasn't even sure if they fit or not, and she hoped they didn't - not that muggle clothing was bad, she just preferred the comfort of old fashioned dressed over 'pants', something that both genders wore in the muggle world. She laughed to herself as she remembered a conversation with her dear cousin.

_"So, women wear these, too?" Phoenix asked, pulling out a pair of blue pants from Nymph's closet._

_"Yeah! I can't believe how old-fashioned you and Aunt Char are." Nymph shook her head, her short, bubblegum pink hair waving in places._

_"I just like skirts is all." Phoenix replied, stucking her tongue out at the young woman._

_"Gross," Nymph made a disgusted face, "You're such a priss!"_

_"Am not"_

_"Are too!"_

_Phoenix tackled her cousin to the ground, sitting on her with a triumphant smile. "Am not."_

She loved her cousiton's different fashion sense, even if it wasn't something she wasn't sure she'd be able to pull off. Phoenix wasn't 'priss', no, and she did love trying different things - she just didn't want anyone to think bad of her.

Not that she cared.

Phoenix then realized what she should wear, and her finger rose up in the air triumphantly. "I know!"

Rummaging faster through her closet, she found the items she was looking for: A white skater skirt, a red tank top, and a black leather jacket - all given to Phoenix by Nymph. It was actually a matching set to one her cousin had, for whatever reason, but that made it all the more special to her. She just didn't know if she'd be able to stand wearing a leather jacket while being outside in the Summer heat.

She changed fairly quickly, knowing they had a schedule to go by - not to mention that Oliver would kill her if they were a second late. (She imagined how excited he was at the moment, seeing as quidditch was Oliver's entire life.)

So used to having a corset on, it felt good to breathe properly. However, she wasn't used to having anything above her ankles show - besides her Hogwarts uniform, but that was different - and she addressed this as she went downstairs, a bit glad that she didn't need to pick up her skirt.

"Mum, is this really necessary? I mean, will anyone really notice if we're dressed as muggles or not? -" Phoenix stopped abruptly when she saw the man sitting in her living room, her mouth hanging open. "Dad?"

Sirius Black stood up from his seat on their couch, his previous aggravated expression turning to joy upon seeing his daughter. He looked better than the last time Phoenix had seen him; his hair now went to his shoulders instead of his elbows, and his skin was no longer waxy and sunken.

"Phoenix!"

She ran to him, hugging him at full force. He caught her, hugging her as tightly as he could, as if she was going to fly away like a balloon.

"What are you doin' here?" Phoenix asked, her Glasgow accent much different from his English accent.

"Hiding, but I can't stay." He answered with a slight sigh.

"I've missed you." She mumbled into his chest, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"I've missed you too." He replied.

"How did you even get here?" She asked, pulling away from him.

"Ah, dear old Moony smuggled me here, but that's not important," He told her, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, "What's important is that you're going to the Quidditch World Cup! If only I could go along… but, alas, no dogs allowed."

Phoenix and her mother both grinned at this.

"But I've heard that the Malfoys have peacocks in front of their tent," Charlotte Black said, losing her upset expression, "And, o'course, the ministry isn't doin' anythin' about it, even though the entire land is being watched over by the muggle who owns it."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Did you really expect any different from the Ministry?"

"Of course not." Charlotte said icily, "I was just sayin'."

The two glared at each other, and Phoenix furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion, but before she could ask as to why they were being so hateful, familiar thundering footsteps shook the porch outside, a hand wrenching the front door open. In the blink of an eye, her father was gone and a shaggy, black dog was in his place, and Oliver Wood glared at his cousin, only for his expression to become confused.

"Since when do you guys have a dog?"

"Since when did you forget your manners?" Phoenix shot back, aggravated.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter - Aunt Char, is she ready yet, because da is throwin' a fit -" But his expression told them that he was too, "- And the portkey is goin' to leave without us - whoa."

"What?" Charlotte and Phoenix asked together, their eyebrows furrowing in concern as they trailed their eyes to Oliver's line of vision, which ended right at Phoenix's chest.

"You're not wearin' that." He said immediately.

"Excuse me?"

"You. Are. Not. Wearin'. That." Oliver said slowly, as if speaking to a five-year-old as he crossed his arms over his burly chest, "No. Either that, or you can do your metamorphous thing and resize those puppies."

"Oliver!" Phoenix screeched, crossing her arms over her chest as well, though self-consciously, "I'll wear whatever I want!" Charlotte and Sirius-Padfoot's eyes flickered to her, and she threw her arms up, "At the consent of my mother!"

Oliver looked over to his aunt, his hazel eyes boring into her, almost begging her to tell her daughter to change, but Charlotte merely grinned in amusement. "I think she looks fine, Oliver. Like Nymph, if ye ask me."

Oliver muttered something under his breath that sounds along the lines of: "A little too much, if ye ask me."

Padfoot let out a bark of laughter at this.

"Fine, just go get yer stuff, and HURRY!"

"No."

After a short while of bickering that only the two cousins could do, Phoenix eventually brought her bag down and thrust it into Oliver's hands, making him carry it. She made sure to tie her boot laces as tight as she could without creating a knot, so that they wouldn't come undone while they were walking around, taking her time as long as she could just to see her cousin suffer. This backfired, however, because she was just as anxious to get to the World Cup as he was.

"Are you done yet?" Oliver growled from in front of her, "Aunt Char, can ye seriously let her change her shirt? I'd say her whole outfit - because not even Merlin knows why you'd wear a skirt to a Quidditch World Cup, much less a simple game - but there isn't enough time. I can see down her shirt from here!"

"Well, Ollie, maybe if you weren't such a perverted freak." Phoenix retorted, bending up to glare at him, "But I can wear what I want, and no man, not even you, can tell me what I can and can't wear."

Padfoot let out another bark that sounded an awful lot like laughter, while Charlotte rested her hand on Phoenix's shoulder, fighting off a smirk. "You'll miss the Portkey if ye keep bickerin' like that."

Oliver opened his mouth to say something, but Phoenix rolled her eyes and turned her attention to her mother. "I'll see ye la'er, mum." She said, wrapping her arms around the woman's middle. Charlotte hugged her back, swaying lightly.

"As will I." She replied.

Phoenix let go from the hug and walked over to her dad in his animagus form, scratching him behind his ears. "I'll see you later, Padfoot."

The dog let out an affectionate whine before licking her arm. Phoenix scrunched her nose up in disgust, but grinned. She then stood back up, let out a sign, and moved towards the door. "I guess that means we can go now."

"Finally!" Oliver said exasperatedly, throwing his hands up, "We'll see you later, Aunt Char. Want me to tell mum that you said hi?"

Charlotte nodded, "Have fun, and try not to destroy anythin' while you're there, please."

"Can't promise anything'," Phoenix replied, grabbing hold of Oliver's hand and pulling him out the door, "Bye!"

Oliver shut the door behind him and shot her an annoyed look, though the corners of his lips were twitching up into a grin. "Should I tell my mum that you and Aunt Char are hidin' a fugitive in your house?"

Before she could stop herself, her jaw dropped. She stared at her cousin, flecks of her hair turning a light shade of brown. How had he known that the dog wasn't actually a dog?

As if reading her mind, he rolled his eyes. "I'm not stupid, Phee. That 'dog' has been around since we were little, and it vanishes when your dad… ye know.. And then it comes back after he broke out of Azkaban? Ye can't tell me that isn't anythin' suspicious. Plus, dogs don't live that long."

Phoenix watched him for a moment, completely baffled. "

You're not… freaked out, or anythin'?"

Oliver shook his head. "Well, a little bit, because if ye get caught with him there, ye'll be hauled off to Azkaban - Well, Aunt Char would - but still."

She nodded, biting down on her lip as she moved down the stairs. "C'mon, ye were complainin' about me takin' too long, and now it's your fault. Let's go."

He rolled his eyes again and walked with her, keeping hold of her hand as they headed a few yards away. "Don't let go of my hand while we're apparatin'."

"I know what to do, Oliver." Phoenix said coolly, "You're lucky I haven't eaten, or I'd make sure to vomit all over ye."

"You are disgusting." He made a face, "Ye haven't eaten?! Ye do realize we're going to be outside all day, walkin' around?"

"I'm aware," she replied, "but maybe if ye hadn't have rushed me, I would've been able to eat - but no, that can't be because we have a portkey to catch."

"Well, I'm sure my mum has somethin' in case we get hungry, c'mon."

Phoenix let out a small, tired sigh and flinched as she felt like she was being squeezed through a tube - a sensation known as apparation. In an instant, she was back on her feet, but the ground beneath her was uneven, and she fell into her burly cousin so he could cushion her in case she fell into the ground. Luckily, she didn't.

"There ye two are!" Her uncle Kenneth shouted, "The portkey has about five minutes to go, where have ye been?"

"Phee-Phee!" Shane, her other and much younger cousin, shrieked in his four-year-old high-pitched tones. He started to make his way over to her, but his mother, and Phoenix's aunt, Ava caught him by the waist and pulled him back, giving her niece a smile. "Good of ye to join us, Phoenix."

Phoenix waved at all of them (Oliver's mother and father, Shane, and his mother - his father wasn't with them because he was a muggle, therefore he couldn't with them) and made her way over to them, where they were crouched around an old, deflated ball that was beginning to glow - the Portkey.

"Why didn't we just apparate to the World Cup?" Phoenix asked, trying to hide her disgusted expression as her knees became slightly muddy, "Wouldn't that have been easier?"

"Do you ever stop complainin'?" Oliver asked, annoyed.

"No." Phoenix retorted, narrowing her eyes at him, "Do you?"

"Of course, just not around you, 'cause nothin' can please the all great and powerful Phoenix Cedrella Black."

_"- kids -"_

"HA! That's comin' from Mr. Quidditch God Oliver Kenneth Wood. Tell me, was all that time ye spent goin' over a Quidditch game worth the fact that ye can't get a girlfriend? Ye can't use your hand forever, Ollie."

_"- kids! -"_

"That's disgustin' - what is wrong with ye? Don't complain to me about not havin' manners when you're here talkin' about that kind of stuff in front of our four-year-old cousin _and_ my mum!"

_"OLIVER! PHOENIX!"_

They turned their heads at the same time to see that the portkey was glowing, about to leave without them. They slammed their hands down onto it not a moment too soon, and a feeling of Phoenix's navel being pulled from behind took over. She let out a scream, while Shane let out a shriek of joy that only a toddler could in the face of potential death.

Oliver's father shouted for them to let go, and they did. The sensation was over before she knew it, solid ground coming up beneath her feet, and her fall was cushioned by Oliver, who was laying beneath her with an irritated expression. That changed, however, when he realized where they were, and he pushed her off of his chest and stood up.

"Five till five from Frog's Grove." Said a bored voice.

Phoenix begrudgingly got up, rubbing a sore spot on her back while she glanced around at her surroundings. They had arrived on what appeared to be a deserted hill. In front of them was a pair of tired and grumpy-looking wizards, one of whom was holding a large gold watch, the other a thick roll of parchment and a quill. Both were dressed as Muggles, though very inexpertly. The man with the watch wore a tweed suit with thigh-length galoshes; his colleague, a kilt and a poncho.

Kenneth grabbed the old, deflated ball off of the ground and handed it to the kilted wizard, who threw it into a large box of used Portkeys beside him.

"Morning.." His bored voice drawled, "Woods and Keirs in one big party, correct? You'd better get out of the way, we've got a big party coming in from Stoatshead Hill at five past seven. Hang on, I'll find your campsite…" He looked at his parchment list, his finger trailing down it, "About a quarter of a mile's walk over there, second field you come to.. ask for Mr. Payne."

"Thank you." Kenneth said, beckoning them all to follow. They set off across the deserted hill, unable to make much through the mist.

They made their way to the second field, fighting off yawns and tired stretching as they did. In the distance, Phoenix could hear the sound of people falling into a heap at the entrance, and she looked over her shoulder, grinning when she saw a group with familiar red hair.

Eventually, they met the man who was watching over their campsite and, with the help of Phoenix's aunt Ava, paid with muggle money. Phoenix couldn't help but be interested in why they had the Queen on paper. But as they wore on, she got increasingly tired and, without his permission, jumped onto Oliver's back so that he could carry her. He complained loudly but didn't drop her.

They had noticed their spot due to the sign that read 'WOOD & KEIR' and Phoenix jumped off of Oliver's back, letting out another yawn as she watched her uncle and eldest cousin put up the tents. Since the place was being watched over by muggles, it wasn't the smartest idea to use magic. However, they made sure the women and Shane kept watch as they used magic to set up the tent anyways - mostly because they were too tired to attempt to actually work with it.

While there was enough room for her in the Woods' tent, she decided to stay in the Keir's tent with her youngest aunt and cousin. There were two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen - giving the inside a look of a small loft. She let out a small, breathy laugh as she made her way to the bedroom, heading face-first into one of the cots, her eyes fluttering dangerously. She'd never get over how cool magic was, even of she had grown up around it.

Sighing with content, she rolled onto her back, allowing sleep to overtake her as she began thinking of what they would do later and who they'd possibly see from Hogwarts. That was until he popped into her mind; her eyes shot open and she surpressed a groan as she scolded herself for forgetting.

How she could forget that Seamus would be there too?

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**So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Posting the first chapter always is nerve-racking.**

**Now, I'd like to apologize on how this is a week late. I've been super busy lately, Teen Wolf has taken over my life (so dont be surprised if you see a new fanfic on my page soon...) and, to top it all off, I'm currently writing this on my phone because I no longer have internet on my computer. Hopefully I will soon, but for now, I can't promise that the next chapter will be up soon because i hate my phone.**

**Hope you enjoyed reading. :)**


	2. Ireland or Bulgaria?

**So, I actually got internet back two days after I posted the first chapter, but I've just been lazy and put off writing until the other day.. so, yeah. Hopefully you'll forgive me for that, but here's the second chapter! **

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A few hours later, Phoenix was woken up rather rudely by Oliver, who was complaining about how she was wasting time sleeping when they could be doing something worthwhile, like walking around and seeing who supported what team. Phoenix sent him a rude hand gesture in return, falling back to sleep without seeing if he had left.

But she was woken up again soon after that by Shane, who had slapped her hard on the stomach and yelled for her to 'wake up 'cause Ollie said so.' Phoenix groaned loudly and fell out of her bed for the second time that day, shooing the four-year-old out as she stood back up lazily, fixing the laces on her boots. The sore spot on her stomach would surely ache for a good while - children had strong hands.

She left her tent quickly, muttering about 'demon children' and 'damn cousins' as she made her way towards Oliver's, wrenching it open with such force that she was surprised she hadn't ripped it open. Her aunt and uncle merely watched in amusement as she may towards Oliver.

"Do I have permission to hit him?" She asked without waiting for an answer, not that she needed one.

"Permission granted." Aunt Victoria mused from her seat in the kitchen, watching as Phoenix barreled towards Oliver and smacked him as hard as she could on the arm.

"Oi!" Oliver shouted, rubbing the place she had hit him, "That didn't hurt, but don't hit me!"

"I'll do what I want." She seethed, rubbing the palms of her hands against her eyes tiredly, "But now I'm up, so lets go look 'round."

Oliver turned towards his parents, his expression neutral, but Phoenix could see the excitement dancing in his eyes. "May we go and look around? We need to get water anyways, what with the Anti-Muggle security, not that there are any 'round here…"

"Might as well," Kenneth answered, "While you're gone, we can decorate the tent some - Ireland or Bulgaria?"

"Ireland!"

"Bulgaria!"

Phoenix and Oliver glared at each other. "You're only supportin' Ireland 'cause your boyfriend is Irish."

"If I had a boyfriend, you'd be the last to know," Phoenix retorted, "And you're wrong. Ireland is goin' to beat Bulgaria, I guarantee it."

"Ireland's been terrible in the league lately." Oliver said, "Have ye seen Bulgaria's seeker? Krum will catch the Snitch, just ye watch."

"Krum could catch the Snitch, yeah, but Ireland would still win. Why? Because they don't rely on their brute strength to win a game." Phoenix replied, rolling her eyes so hard she was surprised they didn't fall out of her head.

"That's impossible. One team can't catch the Snitch while the other wins." Oliver shook his head, being as stubborn as he always was.

"Oh yeah? Lets see what happens at the game, then." Phoenix said in a tone that told him that she was done with the conversation; she turned towards her Aunt Ava, away from Oliver, "Can Shane come with us?"

Her Aunt looked on the verge of laughter, but masked her expression as best as she could. "Alright… just be careful. There are an awful lot of people here, and ye know how crazy Quidditch fans get." Ava glanced over at Kenneth and Oliver, before glancing back at Phoenix.

"It's settled then." Phoenix said with a small grin, walking over to Shane and hoisting him up on her hip with a small amount of difficulty. "Whoa, you're gettin' heavy."

"He is four." Oliver retorted.

"Would you shut up?" Phoenix snapped, heading back over to him while Shane babbled in her ear about being a 'big kid.'

"You're just mad 'cause he's half the size you are." Oliver snapped back.

"Oh, ouch. A 3 foot toddler is definitely half the size of a 5'3 foot teenage girl." Phoenix muttered, ignoring Victoria's comment, 'it's close to it.'

Oliver rolled his eyes, grabbed a bucket, and left the tent without waiting for Phoenix to catch up. Phoenix hurried along, being slowed down by the child she was holding, and damned Oliver all to hell as she barely caught up with him. He simply carried on, his long strides more graceful than her short, hurried ones.

There was music and movement all around, the sounds of an Irish jig filling their ears as they searched for a place to get water. Broomsticks were soaring above them, kids were out playing around them, and Phoenix could hear all kinds of languages and accents as they walked along. Oliver looked up to the sky hungrily, wishing that he could be flying in the air, too. It wasn't like the Ministry was going to do anything, there were far too many wizards and witches using magic than muggles could even notice.

They soon discovered that the place they were going to get water at was on the opposite end of the first field - there were probably stations at each field, but Phoenix and Oliver both enjoyed walking around and looking at everything too much to care where theirs was.

While they were walking, Phoenix wasn't paying much attention to their surroundings, but at the people, so when Shane started yelling in her ear about how he wanted to be put down so he could walk around like a 'big kid' and she obliged, green overloaded her eyes and she blinked rapidly, glancing around. "Whoa."

"What?" Oliver asked, not stopping to see what she was doing.

"It's… green."

"I wonder why."

Phoenix let out a huff, realizing that they had hit Irish territory. At the thought of this, Phoenix's heart began to beat faster than usual, but she didn't let it bother her as she grabbed Shane's hand and continued along. With every Irish flag or patch of shamrocks around tents that she saw, a grin was forming on her face and became wider and wider.

"Phee-Phee, why you smilin' like tha'?" Shane asked, his dark, shaggy hair covering his eyes. Phoenix rolled her eyes good naturedly, bent down, and fixed them, before staring off again. She opened her mouth to reply, but, as always, Oliver's big mouth opened first.

"Because she's in _love_." He said, a mischievous smile on his face as he stressed the 'o' in the word. Phoenix scowled.

"You're lucky Shane's here, or I'd be spoutin' off a lot of words that aren't child-appropriate."

"Uh huh, like what?"

"Like how you're a c-"

"Phoenix!"

A strangled noise left her throat, and in that very moment, it felt as though her heart had stopped beating as Seamus's voice echoed slightly through the area. She turned around, pulling her windblown hair out of her face as she caught sight of her guy best friend (and your crush, a voice echoed in her head) and her other best friend, Dean Thomas. All they were missing now were Kylie Toadstool and Neville Longbottom, but Phoenix didn't think Neville had even gotten tickets.

"Hey!" Phoenix greeted as she walked over to them. Oliver mumbled something under his breath but followed along, no doubt planning up ways to ruin everything for her. Shane simply walked along beside her obediently.

Seamus and Dean were sitting in front of their own shamrock-covered tent with a sandy-haired woman who could only be Seamus's mother. At once, Phoenix felt slightly uncomfortable under the woman's gaze; the year previous, when Phoenix's father had broken out of Azkaban, Mrs. Finnigan had told Seamus that he couldn't talk to her anymore, and now here he was, inviting Phoenix over. Would she say anything? Would she beat her with the nearest heavy object and tell her to never see Seamus again?

"You don't look all history-ish like you normally do!" Dean said in what was probably a compliment. Phoenix grinned sheepishly, suddenly feeling nervous and messing with the zipper on her leather jacket.

"Yeah, well, Nymph bought me these on my birthday or somethin' and I never did wear 'em. I like 'em, though, they're easy enough to wear." She almost began rambling, and Oliver snickered next to her, "But, anyways, how have your summers been?"

"Lazy, really," Seamus replied, "Dean's stayed half the summer, probably to make sure I didn't blow up anythin'."

"And did you?"

"No." Dean answered with a smirk, "It must be a new record. What about yours, Phee?"

"Lazy as well, surprisingly." She answered, glancing over at Oliver, "Oliver's been signed to Puddlemere United, so that was about the only thing that's happened this summer." She couldn't exactly mention how she had seen her father earlier in the day, because they didn't know that he wasn't actually a murderer.

"Congratulations." Dean and Seamus said to Oliver, who grinned proudly, letting his egotistical side come out.

"Don't even get him started." Phoenix said with a grin. Oliver's eyes flickered to her, narrowing slightly.

Shane pulled on her hand and she glanced down to see him pointing at Seamus and Dean. "Phee-Phee, I knew dem."

"Do you?"

"Yeah."

"I'm terribly sorry about that, I do too."

Even Mrs. Finnigan laughed at that, despite clearly not enjoying Phoenix's presence. "And how do ye know them, little one?"

"'Cause they came up to Phee-Phee last year and squisheded her into a hug." Shane explained in an important manner, nodding his head.

Phoenix rolled her eyes for the third time that day, but smiled nonetheless. It was the day she had went to Diagon Alley to get her stuff for school. She had been going through the Quidditch shop with Oliver after they had gotten everything, and Seamus and Dean had yelled her name and gathered her up into a hug before she could respond. It was also the day that she had realized that she had true friends that stood by her, and the day that she began to like Seamus.

"And they nearly killed me, as well." Phoenix responded sarcastically, "I take it that you're supportin' Ireland?"

"Ah, why shouldn't we show our colors?" Mrs. Finnigan said proudly, "Ye should see what the Bulgarians have got danglin' all over their tents. Are ye supportin' Ireland as well?"

"O'course." Phoenix responded, but Oliver's big mouth struck again.

"No, Ireland is terrible."

Phoenix's and Dean's eyes grew wide while Seamus's and his mother's narrowed at the Scotsman. "I beg your pardon?"

"Ireland's team is terrible," Oliver said, not batting an eyelash, "They've been lackin' in the league this year, I mean, have you seen them? Their new keeper is absolute rubbish, too -"

He couldn't talk anymore, as Phoenix had violently grabbed his ear and hissed into it, "Don't you dare embarrass me in front of my friends, Oliver Kenneth Wood!"

"Don't you mean your friends and your -"

She yanked on his ear harder, and Oliver hissed in pain. "I will pull your ear off and make you eat it, is that clear?"

"Crystal." He said through clenched teeth. She released his ear and looked back at the Finnigans and Dean, who were watching them in amusement.

"I'm terribly sorry, he has no brain to mouth filter." Phoenix smoothed over, "We should probably get goin' though. I'll see you two later, it was nice to meet you, Mrs. Finnigan."

Mrs. Finnigan's gaze softened, but it was still clearly judging her. It was unfair that Phoenix was being judged by who her father was, but she was so used to it that it shouldn't have bothered her like it did that it was Seamus's mum.

Seamus and Dean ran over to her and hugged her in a group hug. She hugged them back, silently hoping that they couldn't hear her heart that was practically beating itself out of her ribcage - especially when Dean had let go and Seamus stayed a little longer.

Just like she had became more curvy and a little taller over the summer, Seamus had developed muscles and became taller, though he still wasn't nearly as tall as Dean, who, too, had grown more and developed muscles. Thankfully they hadn't attempted to grow ugly mustaches or anything of the sort, but there was unshaven hair along Seamus's jaw that Phoenix couldn't help but want to run her hand over.

They never did talk about the kiss that they shared at the last Quidditch game of the season before school had ended for Summer break. It was obvious that they both wanted to talk about it, but they just never did. Why they didn't, she didn't know, but a small part of her was hoping that they eventually would and that it would lead to something more.

"I'll see you later." He mumbled , not meeting her eyes.

"Yeah, same here." She said, nervously biting the inside of her lip. They stepped away from each other, and Phoenix sent him a feebly wave before gathering up Shane and stalking off hurriedly. Once out of earshot, Oliver began laughing .

"What in the holy hell was that?"

"I don't know what you're talkin' about." Phoenix snapped.

""_Yeah, well, Nymph bought me these on my birthday or somethin' and I never did wear 'em. I like 'em, though, they're easy enough to wear._"" He mocked, "You're totally in love with him. Better be glad he's not a Brit, or my da would skin ye alive."

"I'm not in love with him, stupid." Phoenix seethed, "I may like him, but I am not in love with him."

"You're right, you're too young to be in love." Oliver said, still trying to contain his laughter. "I'm surprised ye haven't kissed yet."

"We have."

The words left Phoenix's mouth before she could stop them. Oliver stopped abruptly, his jaw hanging open as he slowly turned his head towards her. "What?"

"It was when we won the Cup." Phoenix responded quietly, keeping a hold of Shane as he rested on her hip, "I may have… jumped off my broom and kissed him."

There was a pause, before Oliver shut his jaw, muscles twitching as he clenched his teeth. "I'll kill him."

"Whoa, whoa - I thought you were Team Finnigan and Black..?"

"Not if he's actually got his lips all over ye! You're too young, I won't allow it - not even some Romeo and Juliet type thing, 'cause they both die at the end anyways -"

"Okay, first of all - what is Romeo and Juliet, and how do ye know what it is? Second of all - Ollie, you were _thirteen_ when you first started datin', I'm _fifteen_. I can do as I please, and you can't stop me."

"Whatever, as long as it isn't that Slytherin kid - Brandon, or whatever."

"Braxton."

"Whatever."

"You said that three times."

"Does it look like I care?"

"Yes - Hey, is that Harry?"

They both turned to see Harry Potter, alongside his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Phoenix grinned a bit, remembering the little adventure that they had went on before Summer break again. It certainly brought them closer, but Phoenix didn't spend much time with them. You couldn't break up or squeeze your way into the Golden Trio unless there was a major reason for it - and even protecting themselves from Phoenix's werewolf godfather or helping free Phoenix's father from getting his soul sucked out wasn't enough.

Plus, she preferred the comfort of Seamus, Dean, Kylie, and Neville.

"I think it is - HEY, HARRY!"

"Subtle." Phoenix muttered, waving sheepishly at the Golden Trio, who had turned around to see who had called Harry's name. They waved back at herm looking prepared to run off, but Oliver had gone and chatted up Harry.

She walked past them, grabbed the bucket out of Oliver's hand with her free hand, and began to pour water into it from the tap that the Golden Trio had been walking away from. Shane wiggled beside her, continuing to glance back at Oliver.

"Phee-Phee, who dem?"

"Well, that's Harry Potter in the glasses there, he's my god-brother, did ye know? And there's Hermione Granger in the middle, and Ron Weasley, the ginger, is on the right. I don't think ye remember him, but we used to hang out a lot before Hogwarts started - no, wait, I don't think you were born yet - Oliver, what in the holy hell are you doing?"

Oliver was practically dragging Harry with him, and her poor god-brother was practically signaling for help. "I'm bringin' him to meet my mum and dad, o'course. Hey, Harry, did ye hear? I was signed on to Puddlemere United!"

"That's great, Wood!" Harry said earnestly. Oliver practically showered Harry in praise, while Phoenix had to earn it, and she couldn't help but feel a little jealous. But she had to remind herself that Harry practically had nothing, while Phoenix had everything.

Ron and Hermione couldn't do anything but come along, so when Phoenix was done filling up the bucket with water, the two walked alongside her, asking her how her summer had went and vice versa. Hermione had asked with great interest who the little boy was, and Shane proudly began telling about himself. If he was anything like anyone, he was most like Nymph, without the metamorphamagus trait.

"So, did you stop and talk to Seamus?" Hermione asked, causing Phoenix to grin a little. Ron looked like he knew what they were talking about, but also seemed a little confused.

"I might've.. He's taller, isn't he?"

"Yeah, and, I don't know, he's gotten… easy on the eyes, in a way, right?"

Ron snorted. "Easy on the eyes?"

"Ronald, hush. This is girl-talk time." Phoenix sent him a warning look, biting on the inside of her lip again, "Okay, he has, but he's always been easy on the eyes to be honest. Or is that just me?"

"It's just you." Ron butt in.

"Ollie says that she's in luh with him!"

"I am not in love with him." Phoenix growled. Ron and Hermione both sent her skeptical looks, which she ignored.

They finally made it to the Woods' and Keirs' tent, and with a sigh, Phoenix headed inside and set the bucket in the kitchen while Oliver introduced Harry to his parents and their aunt. Shane leapt from Phoenix's arms and ran over to his mum, leaving her arms object free. She basked in this, shaking out her arms while Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood around awkwardly.

They left soon after, however, sending good luck to Oliver and telling Phoenix that they'd see her at Hogwarts. She waved goodbye to them, following them on their way out of the tent, only to stop in her tracks when she pulled back the opening in the tent, as she was met with the sight of her best friend, Kylie Toadstool, talking to Ernie MacMillan.

Like Ron and Harry, Ernie had grown out his hair to the point that it looked like a shaggy mess - why the guys she had seen so far besides Seamus and Dean decided to grow out their hair, she didn't know - but she liked it. Nothing had changed much about Kylie, except that she had gotten taller (still taller than Phoenix) and had grown into her shape. Kylie and Ernie were totally lost in each other, of course, just like they had been the year previous. If Ernie didn't make a move on her soon, Phoenix would surely step in and tell him to get a move on.

But Phoenix didn't care that they were being as hopeless as they usually were, because they always did that, all she cared about was seeing her best friend. "Kylie!"

Kylie whipped around, totally dazed, before she caught sight of Phoenix and rushed towards her. "Phoenix!"

The two ran to each other and embraced like a train crashing into a wall, jumping around and hugging each other as tightly as they could.

"You're here!" Kylie yelled.

"So are you!" Phoenix yelled back.

"And Ernie is here!"

"And Seamus is here!"

"We're here, together!"

"Yes!"

"Ernie asked me to be his girlfriend!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"Seamus stared at my chest!"

"What a pig!"

The two let go of each other, still bouncing around and looking giddy. It's just how they were - it wasn't something you could explain. Phoenix was demanding and menacing. Kylie was loud and unapologetic. Together they were unstoppable, and it had been that way since the first time they had met on the Hogwarts Express four years ago.

"Wait, so, Ernest over there" -Phoenix pointed over at Ernie, who was currently talking with Harry, Ron, and Hermione- "Finally got his head out of his backside and asked you out?"

"Yeah!" Kylie answered, unable to keep the smile off her face, "Did Seamus not?"

Phoenix shook her head with a roll of her eyes, "Of course not, who do ye think he is?"

"Of course, of course." Kylie stepped back, her eyes trailing down to Phoenix's chest with a slacked jaw, "Well, it's no wonder he stared at your chest. Damn, girl."

Both Phoenix's hair and cheeks became a light shade of pink, and she crossed her arms over her chest, pursing her lips slightly. "It's no big deal."

"Big is certainly the word."

"Kylie!"

"Yeah - okay, sorry, my bad." Kylie grinned crookedly at the metamorphamagus, "You look fine, though, certainly less 16th centaury than normal. It's a good look on you - it's kind of like, grunge, or something."

"What is 'grunge'?" Phoenix asked, raising an eyebrow curiously. If Phoenix didn't know what grunge was, which was probably a muggle term, then how did Kylie know it?

"It's a type of muggle fashion, and a music genre, too, I think. Like the muggle band Nirvana. The lead singer shot himself four months ago." At the look on Phoenix's face, she continued on, "I only know what it is 'cause two of my cousins are like, obsessed with muggle fashion."

Phoenix nodded slowly, her eyes flickering over to Ernie, who had just waved Harry, Ron, and Hermione off and started walking towards them with -

"Of course." She sighed, rolling her eyes as she spotted Braxton Macmillan, Ernie's Slytherin cousin. Previously, Phoenix, nor Kylie, had a problem with Braxton - in fact, he was their only Slytherin friend, only because he wasn't like the rest of them. However, as the year went on, Braxton stopped talking to the two girls, and only when the year was nearly over did Braxton attempt to talk to Phoenix - which she, for lack of a better word, blew him off and walked away without hearing what he had to say. They had ridden in the same carriage at the end of the year, and he tried to talk to her again, but she didn't really care what he had to say.

If you ignored Phoenix, she was going to ignore you right back.

"Hey Phoenix!" Ernie greeted her, acting much more cheerfully towards her than he had last year - but, in his defense, Phoenix's father had broken out of Azkaban (the first person to do so) and everyone believed that he was a dangerous murderer.

"Hello Ernie, and Braxton." She muttered out the last part disdainfully. Braxton looked at her and offered a half-hearted smile, but didn't say anything. What was that about?

"Excited for the World Cup?" Ernie asked, continuing on when she nodded, "Which team are you supporting? Braxton and I are supporting Bulgaria."

"I'm supportin' Ireland." Phoenix answered, grinning a little as she heard Oliver's loud groaning from inside the tent, "Oliver isn't, o'course, but I don't really care what he has to say - he's been drafted onto Puddlemere United's team, ye know."

"Really?" Braxton asked, his eyes sparking with interest despite his face being emotionless - it's how he always looked, it was one of his many Slytherin traits. "He always was a good Quidditch player."

Oliver poked his head out from inside the tent, his hazel eyes narrowed at the Slytherin, "Was that sarcasm?"

"Oliver." Phoenix warned, glaring at her burly cousin. He didn't relent, continuing to glare at Braxton.

"No, it wasn't." Braxton replied, as calm as ever, "You could turn the Chudley Cannons around, as good at Quidditch as you are."

Oliver opened his mouth to talk, but Phoenix put her palm to his face and pushed him back inside the tent like he were a child playing hide-and-seek. She grinned wider, pulling her hand back. "Sorry, but if ye get him started on Quidditch, he'll never stop talkin'."

"It's fine." Braxton mumbled. Phoenix furrowed her eyebrows together at this - Braxton wasn't one to mumble, either. He was headstrong and unapologetic, so it was odd that he was mumbling and actually showing emotion.

She asked herself again, _what was that about?_

Phoenix had turned to talk to Kylie, only to find that her best friend was lip-locking with Ernie. She was about to roll her eyes again, but stopped herself, seeing as she had rolled her eyes enough and didn't want them falling out of her head.

"When she's done swappin' spit with your cousin there," She said to Braxton, hooking her thumb over at Kylie, "Tell her that I'll be in my tent here."

"Will do." He replied, glancing around, "So, your tent is right across from mine.. Would you mind if I walked over to yours and chatted with you for a little while later on, before the Cup starts?"

"Actually," Phoenix started, her lips pouting out slightly as she looked at the blond, "I would."

She then turned around and went back inside her tent, her grin turning into a full-on smirk as she rested her back against the tent wall. Braxton had ignored her last year, and now she was going to ignore him this year.

The problem was, why did it feel like she didn't want to?

* * *

**In case you all didn't know - this fanfic is my baby. It has been ever since I started writing drabbles of it nearly two years ago. So I have tons of drabbles, graphics, etc. made for it because I'm just so in to it. I hope that doesn't make me sound weird or anything, but, yeah. I now have a fanmix - soundtrack type thing up for The Firebird and it can be found on my page, and I'm contemplating whether or not to make a trailer for this story. It's all up to you, really, so would you be so kind as to tell me whether or not you'd like a trailer? **

**That's all I have to say, besides thanking everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed so far. You don't know how excited I was when I read from TWO people that they read The Hidden Truth in a day or two and couldn't wait for me to update. It's just.. wow. I don't know, I get emotional easily I guess.**

**So, yeah, thank you all, and I'll update as soon as possible. xx**

**P. S. Can I just say that I love writing Oliver and Phoenix's banter?**


	3. Ireland & Bulgaria & A Dark Mark (Oh My)

**I know what you're thinking.. "Why has it taken you a month to update with a chapter as small as this?!" Well, let me tell you, March was the worst month I've had so far - it wasn't just a day, or a week, but a whole terrible month. I'm just glad that I finally had the inspiration to write, even if it's only 2,000+ words. Quality or Quantity, right?**

* * *

There was nothing but cheering and yelling for miles, a dangerous clash of green, orange, and white versus white, red, and green. The energy from inside the giant stadium for the Quidditch World Cup traveled from Phoenix's head to her toes in an excited shiver, causing her to grip the railing in front of her so tightly that her knuckles turned white. There were seats behind her, but she was too jittery to sit down. Green and white were painted on her cheeks, the paint running the tiniest bit from the sweat forming from the other bodies around her. She also had a green rose pinned to her shirt that squeaked out the Irish team's names every so often.

Beside her, Oliver competed with her, adorned in Bulgaria's colors. He, too, had his face painted with the team he was supporting's colors, and, despite the hot summer air, had a red and black scarf around his neck. He waved a Bulgarian flag around, shouting nonsense below him as he leaned against the railing.

Behind them sat the adults and Shane, not as decked out in merchandise as the cousins were, but still showed support. The Woods' had Bulgarian colors on. Ava and Shane had both colors on, while Shane's face was painted, the paint smeared from him running his hands all over it and messing with it.

"When is it going to start?!" Oliver shouted, irritated from waiting so long.

"Does it look like I know?!" Phoenix shouted back at him, scrunching her green-streaked hair. As soon as the words left her mouth, brooms flew overhead, leaving a streak of green and white behind them. The Irish.

Phoenix cheered loudly, along with the other Irish supporters, as they flew into the air and threw up fireworks, which exploded loudly and formed into a leprechaun. The leprechaun did a jig in the air, waving to them all below.

She chanted 'Ireland' along with her aunt Ava and cousin Shane, watching as they flew past. When they did, she swore that Troy, one of the Chasers, looked straight at her and winked. She let out one of the loudest screams she could muster, jumping around. "Troy winked at me. He WINKED at me!"

"Shut up." Oliver said, putting his hand over her mouth so that she'd stop screaming.

The Bulgarians then flew onto the pitch, flying right through the leprechaun in an explosion of red and black sparks. They flew into the Irish team, while Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker, flew up towards the top of the stands and kicked his legs up in the air, performing a 180 turn around before flying back with his team. Phoenix had to give it to the guy; he had moves.

All three of the Woods' let out loud, boisterous cheers as the Bulgarian team flew towards the other end of the stadium, where the crowd held up signs that all came together as a large, moving sign of Krum, who held up his hand. He put his arm down, flying towards the left side of the stadium, where nearly everyone held up signs to keep the figure going. At last, he stopped, where a flag that said 'KRUM' flew behind him. The real Krum flew out from it, pumping his fist into the air proudly.

"Good evening!" Cornelius Fudge's voice boomed through the stadium, quieting the crowds, "As Minister for Magic, it gives me great pleasure to welcome each and every one of you to the final and 422nd Quidditch World Cup! Let the match… begin!" He took his wand away from his throat and pointed it at the crowd, releasing the Golden Snitch into the playing field.

* * *

"I told you Ireland would win!" Phoenix cackled at her cousin hoarsely, jumping around with a blanket made of Ireland's colors wrapped around her.

Oliver shoved her in a playful manner, though his eyes burned angrily. "I didn't think that it was possible! I've never seen it before, nor heard of it- how can one team catch the Snitch while the other wins? I just can't process it."

"Well, process it anyways - because I was right, and you were wrong. How many times has that been, now? I'll need to start keepin' track." She boasted, planting herself on the couch and laying down on her side, keeping herself rolled up in the blanket like a wrapped muggle food. Outside, she could hear the drunken yells and singing of the Irish, celebrating the victory, and Phoenix felt like joining them. The euphoria dancing in the air due to winning was trying to coax her out of her comfortable blanket, telling her to join them - or maybe, perhaps it was her ego calling out for her to party because she was right.

"Children, children, can't we be civil?" Ava chastised, though she was wearing a smile. Shane somehow had managed to fall asleep half-way through the match, and was still asleep now, resting in his mother's arms. Phoenix cooed at the sight, while the Woods' all stared at the child, wide-eyed, wandering why any person, child or adult, could sleep through a quidditch match.

"Civil isn't a word in either of their dictionaries." Kenneth answered for them, walking towards the front of the tent, moving the entrance back to get a good look outside, "I wish they'd calm down, not that I blame them -the Irish were phenomenal tonight, even if I don't like the team - but still."

"I wonder if yer boyfriend's throwing a bash right now." Oliver said, a little too loudly for Phoenix's taste, "Wishin' that ye were there in his arms, dancin' to a jig played by his uncle.."

He was promptly cut off by Phoenix throwing a box of Bertie's Ever-Flavored Beans and hitting him square in the forehead. "That was rude."

"I _am_ rude." Phoenix retorted, letting out a squeak and shielding her face with her blanket as Oliver threw the box back at her, spilling the last remaining beans onto the tent floor, "And so are you!"

"Quiet down!" Said an urgent voice. Instinctively, Phoenix and Oliver both looked towards Ava and Shane, afraid that they had woken up the hyperactive toddler, but their Aunt had suddenly shot up, holding a wakening Shane tightly without saying a word.

"We need to go." It was her uncle, his head coming back into the tent and looking at each of them with an unreadable expression, "Something's happening. Come on, quickly!"

Victoria got up and rushed towards her husband, about to ask what was going on, but was beaten by Shane, who asked in a very groggy state, "Mumma, wasgoinon?"

The drunken yells that Phoenix had heard before turned into panicked screams, and she untangled herself from her blanket, rushing towards the entrance to get a good look. Oliver, however, pulled her back, staring at his father with wide eyes, waiting for an answer.

There was a flash of green from the light seeping through the entrance of the tent, causing Phoenix's blood to run cold. There wasn't any other curse of that color, but why, why was it being used here? She wanted to say it was the result of a brawl of Ireland versus Bulgaria, but the panicked screams and sounds of feet slapping land were too frightening to just be the cause of a drunken fight.

It was a riot.

"Come on!" Kenneth yelled, rushing out of the tent with his wife, and the others did as they were told. Ava held onto Shane as tightly as she could as she hurried after the other two adults. Shane, who was confused and sleepy, had sensed the panic and began to cry, but there was nothing the aunt could do but shush him and tell him everything would be okay.

Phoenix held onto Oliver's hand for two reasons. 1.) So she wouldn't be separated from her cousin, and 2.) It was giving her a small sense of security, like a small child snuggling with a warm blanket in the middle of winter.

She turned her head to look behind her as they ran after the adults, gasping audibly at the sight. A crowd of wizards, tightly packed and moving together with wands pointing straight upward, were marching slowly across the field. Their heads were hooded, their faces masked, and Phoenix recognized them as Death Eaters. The kind of people that her father had been framed as being.

High above the Death Eaters, floating in midair, were four struggling figures being contorted into grotesque shapes. The Death Eaters were joined by some wizards, who were laughing and jeering at the torturing of the four people. Tents crumpled and fell as the marching crowd swelled, some being blasted out of the way, others catching fire.

Phoenix forced herself to look back ahead of her, running down a path that lead into a forest area. People were ahead of them, having the same idea as them to hide in the forest. The thought of being so close to Voldemort's supporters made the hair on the back of her neck stand up - they'd surely parade her around, too, if they caught her. Her last name came with a deadly price.

Oliver caught onto that as well and, despite his hard expression and unstoppable running, squeezed her hand in an act of comfort - and through that act, it was like sending her a message telepathically that said, "We'll be okay, I won't let them hurt you.." Phoenix squeezed his hand back hastily, afraid that the sweat forming on both of their hands would cause them to lose grip of each other.

Everyone eventually stopped running after a while, but continued walking at a fast pace, looking over their shoulders fearfully at the mess behind them. The amount of people in the Death Eater group had multiplied quickly in the past few seconds, minutes, possibly hours they had been running, but, judging by the shouts that could be heard over the terrified screaming, there were Ministry wizards on the job. The people up in the air still lingered, bouncing helplessly.

They went into a heavily-wooded area, away from the crowds, and began doing what ever needed to be done; calm the children, shake themselves out of their unbelieving stances, catch their breath, etc. In Phoenix's case, it was both the second and third choices, continuing to hold Oliver's hand after they had gotten out of harm's way and found the family. She wouldn't let go no matter what.

It was hard to believe that in only a day, she had hugged and talked to her father who was supposed to be in hiding, had managed to make a fool of herself in front of her or - Seamus, watched a professional Quidditch Game up-close and personal, and ran for her life in a Death Eater riot. It was all in a day's work, she supposed, because she had been in - up until this very moment - the strangest predicament she had ever experienced.

But, despite the small reassurance that a lot of strange and bad things happened to her possibly because her name was Phoenix and she was a metamorphamagus, so she was bound to attract trouble - her heart hammered in her chest as she squeezed Oliver's hand tightly, her small, smooth but slightly calloused hand different against his large, calloused and rough hands. She ignored everything around her, including the crying Shane that her aunt Ava was trying to calm, and only focused on her breathing.

Inhale, exhale.

Inhale, exhale.

Phoenix had been too young to know about the Death Eater riots when they had first started - or, at least, when the second riots did - but she knew enough about them, now. They were Voldemort's followers, minions in a hate-breeding army that only wanted the purest of blood to reign and stay in the magical world. The Blacks were apart of the dark wizards who killed muggle-born and muggles alike - which was why Phoenix and her mother had always been glared at on the streets, receiving hateful words and occasional curses, all because of their last name. Why Phoenix had always been told 'the apple doesn't fall far from the tree' when she was old enough to know that her father had been sent to Azkaban for working with Voldemort - not that he had really done so.

But it all came down to them. Voldemort. Death Eaters. They had torn her mother and father's lives to shreds. They had killed Harry's parents. They had conspired against the Potters, a traitor in their midst, and took them before Harry could even remember them. They had locked Phoenix's father in prison for a crime he didn't commit, leaving all that was left of her parents' friends from when they went to Hogwarts - which only meant Moony, or Remus.

There was no way in hell that the apple was going to fall far from the tree, because the apple wasn't going to fall. There was a permanent sticking charm on the stem, keeping it's grip on the tree branch until either the apple rotted away, or the tree was chopped down. Phoenix wasn't a big fan of apples anyways.

Phoenix was brought out of her thoughts by fingers clicking in front of her, where she was vaguely aware of how her hand felt empty now. Oliver stood in front of her, eyeing her carefully. "Are you okay?"

Her stormy grey eyes scanned the people around her, having difficulty seeing faces through the dark as she tried to ignore the question. "I think so.. Are you?"

"Yeah." Oliver didn't look as shaken-up as she was, but she noticed the hesitant, fearful look in his eyes as he glanced behind her at the riot. "Who - what was that?"

Kenneth and Victoria looked at each other, wondering if they should tell them what they were, or what they thought they were. Maybe there was a possibility that it wasn't a group of Death Eaters at all, but some drunkards who wanted to create some terror for no reason, for people to remember what it used to be like when he-who-must-not-be-named was in power. Maybe, just maybe.

Kenneth sighed deeply, turning towards his son and niece. "It may be... you were both too young to know when they were in power - they were called -"

But in that moment, a giant green flash lit up the sky over by the first field, effectively cutting off Phoenix's uncle as they stared up in horror, gasps and screams filling the already hauntingly musical air. Phoenix's suspicions were confirmed, all by the enormous green skull with a snake protruding out of it's mouth. The symbol of the -

"Death Eaters." Kenneth finished in a low, anxious voice, "They were called Death Eaters."

* * *

**When I said that Teen Wolf had taken over my life, I meant it. All I've had inspiration for is my newest story (which, y'know, is Teen Wolf related) and I've found it nearly impossible to get in the swing of anything Harry Potter related. It makes me feel bad that I don't have hardly any inspiration for this since Phoenix + her adventures are my babies. If it makes you feel any better, I've already started on the next chapter! Maybe if I tape myself to a chair and watch Harry Potter on repeat, I'll be inspired again..**

**I've also made a tumblr for my stories, started writing on Wattpad again, and have numerous playlists made on 8tracks for both this story and Monster (TW.) All of these links can be found on my page, in case you want to follow any of them! :) **


	4. Not Your Average Train Ride

**I hope this chapter was written soon enough.. writer's block really, really sucks, y'know? You know what else really sucks? Not owning Harry Potter.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The remaining week of August passed by in a blur - at least, to Phoenix. After the disaster after the World Cup, she couldn't help but dwell on it a little longer than necessary. What exactly were Death Eaters doing at the World Cup, and why, after you-know-who disappeared 14 years ago, were they rising up again? The hair on the back of her neck stood up every time she heard the smallest noise, and for the nine days after safely getting home, it felt as if she missed the last step going down the stairs.

The only other possible explanation for her twitchy behavior was her father being on the run; after she had arrived back home and shared a good half-hour with her mother, she was told that Sirius had left soon after she did - what with being a 'dangerous' escaped convict and all. Remus told them that he was well-hidden someplace they couldn't be told, but Phoenix still wondered if he wouldn't be caught. She knew her father, and besides having his looks, she also had his personality, and one thing that Phoenix had a hard time with was staying out of trouble. The phrase 'the apple doesn't fall far from the tree' could only be used for that particular part of their personality.

So, as Phoenix walked down Platform 9 & 3/4 with her mother, aunts and uncle, two cousins, and godfather (at her request,) she kept shooting nervous glances over her shoulder as if she would suddenly see her father come barreling down the platform, Ministry wizards in tow. But she knew that wouldn't happen (hopefully) and that, where ever her father was, he was safe and well-hidden. After all, he did have Buckbeak with him, the hippogriff that she, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had set free, and that hippogriff had a talent of protecting people who treated it well.

"Looking for someone?" A voice whispered in her ear, causing her to let out a small scream and turn around swiftly, facing the ear-whisperer. Of course, it was Oliver, who smirked smugly at her. Oh, if only he hadn't graduated the year before. She was going to miss making his life a living hell.

"And if I am?" She replied in a smug tone, flipping her hair with the back of her hand, effectively smacking him in the face in a tidal wave of dark curls. He scowled, swatting at her hair and nearly pulling the bow that had been placed in with a graceful determination that she didn't even know she had - so, naturally, she stopped walking, turned around, and smacked him upside the head. "Bugger!"

"Language!" Her mother chided in a sing-songy voice before continuing the conversation that was being held with her godfather. Phoenix had to admit, she was a little flattered that her remaining family had came with her just to see her off; but she was also aware that it was due to the scare at the Quidditch World Cup. Either way, she was glad to be surrounded by the people she loved the most in the world.

"He ruined my hair!" Phoenix complained at the same time Oliver had whined, "She hit me!"

Kenneth and Victoria both snorted, shaking their heads before Victotia stepped in. "Children, children, behave."

Oliver muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like 'bloody women', swatting at Phoenix's hair again in an attempt to wind her up even more. She pursed her lips, yanking out the bow that had been dangling on a few strands and clipping it back in, pushing hair behind her ear furiously.

She stared up at the Hogwarts Express and all its cherry-red glory, taking in the way steam oozed out from underneath the wheels and curled up into the air, disappearing into the ceiling of the train station. It may have seemed weird, but it was one of the things she liked to look at, or just steam in general, and she only liked looking at a handful of things in life - 1. The hills and green lush of Scotland, 2. A basket of kittens, 3. Steam evaporating, 4. Cute boys, and, 5. Seamus Finnigan.

Wait, what?

Her own mind had caught her off guard for a moment, which resulted in her stopping - which resulted in Oliver walking into her and further damaging Phoenix's attempts at looking nice and non-17th Century-like. Oliver: 1, Phoenix: 0.

"Phoenix!"

"Oliver!"

She moved her hand to hit him upside the head to damage what ever he had going for him, which wasn't a lot, in her opinion, when the sound of a familiar voice caused her to stop and look up at the train, grinning when she saw Kylie leaning out a window, staring down at her with a wicked grin.

"Hello Wood, Wood's family, Phoenix's mum, and Professor Lupin!" She greeted, waving merrily at them before tucking a strand of loose blonde curls behind her ear, narrowing her eyes at Phoenix, "As much as I love watching families share a meaningful goodbye, Phoenix really needs to hurry her pretty and non-17th Century-looking ar-backside up, 'cause, y'know, the train is going to leave soon."

They all simultaneously turned towards a giant clock on the wall and, sure enough, saw that the train was due to leave in about five minutes. This caused Phoenix to sigh heavily, shaking her head up at Kylie. "Yeah, yeah, give us a minute, will ya?"

"Aye, aye, captain." She sent her a salute before ducking down behind the window, though it was obvious that she was watching them still.

"I guess we should say goodbye then." Her mother said quietly, scooping her daughter up into a nearly bone-crushing hug. Sending Phoenix off to Hogwarts always was hard on her mum, even when they would see each other again on Christmas break, or, now that she was allowed to go on Hogsmeade trips again, could see each other in The Three Broomsticks in the heart of the little village.

"Mum, I'll see ye at Christmas, you know that." Phoenix mumbled, finding it hard to breathe with her nose pressed into her mother's shoulder; Sensing this, her mother pulled away but kept her hands on her daughter's shoulders, chuckling softly. "I don't know, dear, you may want to stick around."

"And why would I want to do that?" She raised a skeptical eyebrow, waiting for her to continue, but she didn't, which caused Phoenix to become suspicious. "Uncle Moony, what is she talkin' about?"

"I can't tell you," He answered slyly, pretending to zip his lips shut, "you'll see soon enough. You should probably get on the train now, Ms. Toadstool is getting impatient."

Phoenix let out a loud, frustrated sigh but nodded, quickly hugging her godfather and aunt and uncle, then Oliver, who groaned in annoyance but hugged back anyways. it was after she unwound her arms from Oliver did she rush to get on the train with the remaining stragglers, speedwalking as fast as she could with her trunk, cat cage, and delicate outfit. _Damn you, Kylie,_ she thought, _stop rushing me while you're halfway across the freaking train._

Not a minute after she had arrived on the train, the whistle was blown, causing her to hurry to the nearest window that wasn't crowded and wave to her family, yelling 'I love you!' before she set off on her journey once more. She hastily moved past a group of 7th years lurking around some compartments before she caught sight of a familiar face known as Dean Thomas and slid through the compartment door, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Hope we didn't miss the party." She said in her familiar way of greeting, hoisting up her cat cage.

"The only party you missed was the boat ride to 17th Century France." Kylie replied, wiggling her eyebrows as well, "Lookin' good, by the way."

"I always look good." Phoenix flipped her hair over her shoulder before pointing to her trunk, "Yeah, uh, can't bend over without flashin' my knickers to everyone walking by, so.."

All three boys, consisting of Dean, Seamus, and Neville, had looks of horror and discomfort at her brutal honesty (which they should've been used to by now) but nonetheless put her trunk up on the shelf for her while she sat beside the window, right across from Kylie. Kylie rolled her eyes with a small smirk.

"You're such a diva."

"You say it like it's a bad thing."

"Your vanity will be your downfall."

"Okay, Trelawney."

Kylie stuck her tongue out, pretending to gag, when, right as Seamus moved to shut the compartment door, the she-devil appeared with her trusted lackey, batting her eyelashes in a manner that made Phoenix want to puke right then and there.

"Hi Seamus." Lavender said, in her usual overly-sweet voice that made Phoenix want to claw her eyes out.

"Uh, hey Lavender..?" Seamus replied slowly, keeping his hold on the door.

"How was your summer?" She stared at him, still batting her eyelashes in a way she thought was seductive when, in reality, it looked like something was stuck in her eye.

"It was... okay, how was yours?"

"Oh, mine? Mine was super!" She bounced on her heels, smiling widely. Phoenix and Kylie looked at each other, sharing an 'is she serious?' look they shared often. Phoenix was getting offended just by Lavender being near her. There was only room for one curly-haired, obnoxious blonde, and that was Kylie, nonetheless a curly-haired, obnoxious Scot. That was Phoenix - not Lavender.

"That's nice." Seamus looked over his shoulder at his friends, giving them a 'help me' look before turning back around. "Well, see ye later."

"See you!" Lavender giggled and turned away with Pavarti as Seamus shut the compartment door, looking downright terrified.

"That was a train wreck if I ever saw one." Dean commented with a sly grin, watching the two disappear - more importantly, his eyes focused on Pavarti'a retreating figure.

"She can't help it, I'm irresistible." Seamus retorted, sitting beside Phoenix in his usual spot. She let out a soft snort, causing him to look at her, "What? Am I not?"

"No." Phoenix replied, suddenly finding the urge to scream 'you're extremely irresistible!' but kept it in control, "Exaggerated vanity is my thing. As well as being the only obnoxious Scot in yo- everyone's lives."

"True." He replied, faking an expression of deep thought before grinning, "Wait, was that a jealous tone I picked up on?"

_Shite._ "In your dreams." She smiled at him, scrunching her nose up at him before turning her head to look out the rain splattered window, taking in the green blurs as well as she could as they passed. That was until she had noticed squeaking that was quickly getting on her nerves. "You're still wearing that?"

"Yep." He puffed out his chest, pointing to the green rose that was pinned to his chest. It was squeaking out the names of the Irish players, but Phoenix wanted nothing more than to rip it off and burn it.

It was tuned out, however, as they exchanged the usual stories of what they did over the Summer (when Kylie had explained how Ernie had asked her out at the Quidditch World Cup, Phoenix squealed loudly and yelled "YOU TWO WERE SWAPPIN' SPIT AND EVERYTHIN'! I SAW IT!" Which caused Kylie to shoot back "YOU'RE JUST MAD 'CAUSE MY CRUSH ASKED ME OUT AND YOURS DIDN'T!" which started a whole other war and a staredown of the century) and when the girls had gotten over their staredown, they had discussed more serious manners, like why everyone had started growing their hair out.

"I don't see a problem with it," Phoenix said, "I'm baskin' in the glory of long-haired men. Bring it on."

Neville, whom of which was one of the many guys in their year to grow out his hair, gave her a strange and slightly afraid look.

"You two," Kylie pointed to Seamus and Dean, "need to step up your game and grow your hair out like Neville here. See him? Instant ladies man. You two? Not so much, though there never was hope for you."

Dean and Seamus shared offended looks. "And Neville does?" Dean asked.

"Yes!" Phoenix, Kylie, and Neville yelled together.

"Excuse me, we are the Neville Longbottom defense squad, and I'm going to have to tell you to reevaluate your entire life because Neville is our perfect little cupcake" Phoenix retorted, turning her hair a peach color to match her skirt.

They moved on to another topic, one that bored Phoenix to no end (because she had absolutely had no idea what it was about,) so she tuned them out and focused on the rain outside that practically slammed against the train. It had been the same way the year previous, but she hoped that Dementors wouldn't stop the train and search it again like last year.

Without realizing, Phoenix leaned her head on Seamus's shoulder, and when she did realize, it only made her smile softly and enjoy the rain outside more. It was a habit of hers to tune everything out and only focus on the things that grabbed her attention - and while Seamus grabbed her attention often, she had done enough of embarrassing herself at the World Cup.

Maybe it was cliché, but she found herself enjoying her head on his shoulder and their arms touching each other, and maybe, just maybe, Kylie was right in saying that Phoenix was only mad because Ernie had asked Kylie out and Seamus hadn't asked her out. She frowned slightly at this, only because it did seem really, really cliché. The girl falling in love with her best friend? It was an overused idea, one that caused problems. What if they stopped liking each other? What if the relationship didn't last? What if they ended up hating each other?

Maybe, she thought, these reasons were why she was afraid of taking things to the next step with Seamus. They had already kissed, hadn't they? They had never talked about it, of course, but it still mattered, didn't it?

Phoenix sighed quietly, deciding to tune back into the conversation just in the nick of time, because Kylie had suddenly said, "Phoenix and I can stay here, maybe find Ernie and Braxton."

"Wait, what's going on?" She asked in a sleepy voice, rubbing her eyes and lifting her head up off of Seamus's shoulder. Seamus looked disappointed, but didn't say anything.

"We're going to go talk to Harry and Ron, wanna come?" Neville explained.

"Hmm.. nah, I'll stay here, but I am not going to talk to Braxton." Phoenix replied, lifting a finger and shaking it at Kylie, "Did ye know that that prat had the nerve to come up to me at the World Cup and talk to me, after he had ignored me more than half the year last year?"

"Oh? What did he say?" Kylie asked at the same time Seamus had said, "What'd he say?"

"He goes '_Would you mind if I walked over to your tent and chatted with you later on_?'" She explained, mocking Braxton's voice in its posh manner, "and you know what I said?"

"What?"

"I walked up to him, got real close to his face, and went '_Actually, I would_' and then I turned around and went back into my tent. The nerve of him!"

"Never change, Phoenix," Dean said seriously, his lips twitching up into a grin, "Promise me that you'll never change."

Phoenix saluted him before waving them away, dismissing them to go talk to Harry and Ron. They left at this, sliding the compartment door shut behind them. Before they shut it, Phoenix swore that she heard Dean say to Seamus, "Keep your jealousy in check, man."

"So..." Kylie began once they were out of earshot, "Still nothing from Seamus?"

Phoenix shook her head slowly. "Nothing."

"You can't be serious! Phoenix, you two were freaking holding hands! Your head was on his shoulder, you're wearing the ring he gave you for your birthday, and, Merlin's saggy y-front, you both were super jealous when Lavender and Braxton were brought up!" Kylie brought her fist to her forehead, sighing loudly, "You need to get together before the world explodes, or worse, one of you moves on."

This caused Phoenix's stomach and heart to both do a flip-flop thing that often happened when Seamus was brought up, before she gave Kylie a strange look. "We were holding hands?"

"Um, yeah." Kylie nodded slowly while Phoenix looked down at her hand, "You two are so hopeless and clueless it's sickening. I think they call this skinny love; 'when two people love each other, but are too shy to admit it, yet they show it anyway.'"

"Who said anythin' about love?!" Phoenix nearly shrieked, her eyes bugging out of her head, "Maybe there's strong crushin' going on, but not _love_. Dammit woman, I refuse to fall under the stereotypical title of helpless teenage girl who 'loves' a boy, as well as refusing to be 'in love' with my best guy friend."

Kylie's eyebrows rose up, but she nodded in understanding. "Phoenix, as much as I agree with you not wanting to fall under the stereotype that teenage girls love guys when they don't even know what love means, you wouldn't be falling under that category if you fessed up to liking Seamus. I wouldn't doubt it if the teachers had a bet to see how much longer it is until one of you confesses your lo-like for each other."

Phoenix shrugged, glancing back up at Kylie after staring at the seat for a good while. "I'm just afraid we'll date, find out we actually suck together, and then we break up and hate each other and you and Neville and Dean will have to take sides, and we all known Dean would take his side, and oh Merlin, I'm crying -" she wiped at her eyes, frowning, "Look, just, uh, can we forget this for now? You can go look for Ernie, I'll be fine here."

Kylie rolled her eyes, reaching across the compartment to pat Phoenix on the head. "Yeah, whatever you want. But I'm not leaving you in here by yourself, and we can't both leave because, well, there are twats on this train that will steal our stuff if we leave it unattended. By the time the guys come back, we'll be at Hogwarts soon, so..."

"You're goin' to stay in here with me and leave your boyfriend unattended just for me?" Phoenix grinned a little, weaving her fingers through her now-lilac hair. It was still unbelievable to her how people would just willingly spend time with her, despite her father being known as a mass murderer.

"Ernie isn't that special." Kylie pouted out her lips, a hint of a smirk appearing, "Chicks before dicks, you know."

Phoenix raised an eyebrow., using a mock-voice similar to Professor McGonagall, "That is unacceptable profanity, Miss Toadstool. Fifteen points from Gryffindor!"

Kylie feigned a surprised expression before letting out a laugh, "I'm going to laugh if we get there and fifteen points actually have been taken off."

"Is that even possible?" Phoenix asked, leaning back in her seat and stretching out her legs.

"I hope not." Kylie glanced at the compartment door, looking to see if any of the three were coming back, "How would we be able to explain that? 'Oh, uh, Phoenix did a sick impression of McGonagall and took away some points because I said dicks.'"

Phoenix stuck her tongue out, leaning her head against the cool, rainy window and asking the question that had been bothering her for a few minutes now, "So, uh, were we really holding hands…?"

"Oh my Merlin." Kylie hid her face in the palm of her hand, "Yes! Yes you were!"

"Well excuse me for not recallin' if I was holding hands with a boy!"

"Phoenix, do the world a favor and shut up."

"Noted."

* * *

**I feel like every chapter besides the last one always includes Seamus in it, and I'm sorry if that gets on your nerves. I didn't even realize it until reading this, so. I PROMISE that Phoenix's life in this won't revolve around Seamus - that isn't how I roll, and that's how none of my female characters will ever roll. I suppose right now it's more of a focused thing because, as this chapter states, she's beginning to realize how much she likes Seamus.. but they aren't going to get together that easy (((totally hasn't been done before at least a thousand times.))))**

**The next chapter is practically already written, but I have to edit it because it was written out when Phoenix was named Juno and this whole other plot thing was happening... but, it doesn't matter, because it will be up soon! **

**Also, I post snippets and sneak peaks of chapters and new chapters for both of my stories up on my story tumbr, Lavenderlash, long with edits and stuff. So if you have a tumblr, feel free to follow me there or on my regular one, Notbilinski. :))**


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